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Monday, February 22, 2016

Boiling the Frog

There is a story to explain the slow advancement of
unpleasant or unacceptable practices into any society or business.It is the gruesome tale of boiling a
frog.If you take a live frog and drop
him into a vat of boiling water, the frog feels the heat and immediately jumps
out.If instead you put the frog in a
pan of cold water and slowly turn up the heat, the frog is not distressed at
first and slowly gets accustomed to the slightly warmer temperatures until it’s
too late.At that point the frog’s
complacency becomes his undoing and he is boiled without any resistance.This story is probably completely false.But taken as a fable, the moral is very
powerful.

It came to mind when the PBS News Hour reported a new government rule concerning the SNAP Program (formerly known as Food Stamps).“The U.S. government wants to steer the 46 million Americans who receive
food stamps toward healthier food choices. The USDA plans to require retailers
that accept those benefits to stock more fresh foods.”In an interview, they go on to describe how
it will affect both the retailers and the customers.

The retailers will be required to stock at least 168 items
of healthier foods, like fruits and vegetables.They are expected to display them in a way to encourage their purchase –
meaning food should be attractive and placed at eye level and all the other
tricks grocers use to increase sales of certain products.Some stores that today accept food stamps don’t
have adequate refrigeration capacity to carry the additional products and don’t
understand the storage and handling requirements.They may have to invest in equipment and
training, which will push up their costs, costs that most likely get passed
along to their customers.(Remember that
grocery stores in poor neighborhoods are already being criticized for their
higher prices, a situation partly driven by their lower volume business and
partly by the increased risk of doing business in these neighborhoods in the
first place.Now come more regulations
to increase the complexity of their business.)

On the customer side, there is not yet any requirement.“A person using food stamp dollars could
still purchase as much junk food as they wanted, but they would at least have
more options in the store to buy fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats and bread.”There is no guarantee that having the option
will change behavior.

But officials at the USDA have very good intentions.They want Food Stamp recipients to eat healthier.If access to the food doesn’t do the trick,
what might be the next steps?That is
the question we should always ask when people with good intentions start making
rules.

Just 20 months ago the American Beverage Association fought
off a proposed ban on the purchase of sugary soft drinks with Food Stamps.The ban was based on research at Harvard and
the University of California and backed by mayors of 18 major cities and
influential elected officials in Washington.The ABA argued that soft drinks were not the only problem.Findings of those studies, however, were
backed by another study released by Health Affairs showing that “a proposed ban
on sugar sweetened beverages purchased with SNAP benefits would significantly
reduce obesity in adults ages 18-65.”

Will the junk food industries continue to prevail in this
battle with the food police?Though this
affects only Food Stamp users, what are the likely longer-term ramifications on
the rest of us?

As I pointed out last time, this always happens when people don’t take responsibility.Kind people with big hearts and good
intentions start limiting options, taking away freedom.When they can’t put prohibitions in place all
at once; they ease into it.

The frog fable always gets a little scarier when you realize
that you might be the frog.

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About Me

is highly qualified to comment on the connection between our behavioral choices and the results we get. His formal education and training in observing and classifying behavior is supported by more than 40 years of practical business experience and 10 years of personal research. He is a West Point graduate with two Master’s degrees in business.
He is also a published author, Master Gardener and RYT200 yoga teacher.